Leewan, your ATW link is to an article written 'Thursday December 13, 2007'... The world has moved on.
Some facts don't change with time. The fact is A380 is a reliable a/c and is very popular among the pax.
SIA customers ask ?where is recession? on packed A380 It is a gas guzzler if you look simply at the amount of fuel it consumes. But if you look at the liters per pax per mile, then it's the most fuel efficient a/c out there at the moment.
AFAIK, it is definitely making $$$ as far as SQ is concerned.
All new a/cs in service would have an increased amount of mx inspections to uncover latent problems and the A380 is not an exception. The dispatch reliability figures are remarkable considering it's a new a/c type.
As to whether the market can support the A380 in the long term, at the moment, it does look like a niche a/c as not many operators are ordering it. Some potential customers I've heard, are waiting for the A389 instead. Only time will tell.